Roofing tile



SePt- 27, 1949 w, S. BREMER 2,482,835

ROOFING TILE 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l Filed Deo. ll, 1945 l/l//7//0/77 5.re/77er l N V E N T O R Sept 277 1949. w. s, BREMER 2,482,835

ROOFING TILE Fi1ed Dec. 11, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2 l jwmfwm@ ATTORNEYSPatented Sept. 27, 1949 1f UNITED S'AFEZS,A PATENTA OFFICE `2,482,835'

ROQFING TILE Y William S. Bremer, New Washington, Ohiok c ApplicationDecember 11, 1945, Serial No. 634,214

This invention relates to roong tiles and in particular to substantiallyhat interlocking edge metallic tile.

Tiles for roong purposes have been produced in various designs inattempts to secure Weatherproof roof coverings of pleasing appearance.These tiles,yin general. provide good water shedding properties as longas the rain is not accompanied by high winds. If rain and high windoccur simultaneously Water is often driven upwardly between thesuccessive courses of tile, the water then running down through the roofboards and into the building below. Another disadvantage of manyordinary roofing materials including tile is the lack of ventilationimmediately beneath the outside roof surface. Under certain conditionsthis lack of ventilation will allow the snow and ice on the higherportions of' the roof, which portions are warmed by heat lost throughthe roof, to melt and to gather in a puddle just above the snow and iceremaining over the eaves. Inasmuch as any tile roof is not absolutelywater-tight the puddle of water drains through the roof and into thebuilding beneath;

The principal object of this invention is to provide a flat tile withinterlocking edges and horizontal water barriers adapted to preventleakage of wind-driven rain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roofing tile havingadequate air circulation to prevent formation of ice-held puddles on theroof surface.

A still further object is` to provide a roof having a heat reflectingsurface to reduce the absorption of solar heat.

VThese and other objects and advantages are pointed out in the followingdescription of an improved roong tile.

According to the invention the. leakage of winddriven rain is preventedby providing a trough extending along one side of each individualroofing tile and water barriers or ridges extending transversely acrossthe upper surface of each tile and draining into the trough. The waterbarriers are in each case covered by the bottom'edge of the next highercourse of tile so that they are not exposed directly to the weather andact primarily to separate the water from the air and 2 Claims. (Cl.108-10) water that is driven under the next, higher tile. .Y

in the form of a comparatively thin sheet rein-y forced by ribs and thedepending edge and trough arrangement. Although aluminum is preferred inthe construction of the tile the advantages of the improved design maybe attained with tile composed of ceramic materials, molded asbestos orother materials. The metals are to be preferred because they result in astronger roof which is impervious to hail, to other unusual weatherconditions and, if properly grounded, to lightning.

A tile illustrating the improvements provided by the invention and itsmethod of use are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure I is a perspective View of an individual tile.

Figure II shows a fragment of a roof, the lower course of tile beingcompleted and succeedingly higher courses being shown in the process ofcompletion to illustrate the general cooperation of the tile inproducing a weather-tight covering.

Figure III is avertical section taken substantially along the lineIII-III of Figure II.

Figure IV is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially alongthe line IV-IV of Fgure II.

Figure V is atransverse vertical section taken substantially along theline V-V of Figure III.

These specic figures and the accompanying description are intendedmerely to illustrate a preferred form of the improved roofing tile andare not intended to imply limitations 'upon the claims.

The improved roong tile, as seen in Figure I, has a substantially atupper surface comprising a flat portion l exposed to the weather and acontiguous substantially coplanar portion 2 which is lapped by the nexthigher course of tile. Water barriers in the form of ridges 3 and 4 areformed on the 'upper surface of the portion 2. A number of gaps 5 areleft in the rst or lower ridge 3 through which water may drain from thearea between the barriers onto the remainder of the surface 2 and thencedownwardly across the exposed portion l. The side edges of the exposedportion l and the contiguous portion '2 have depending flanges E and lwhile the bottom end of the exposed portion I' has a downwardly directedflange 8 of a width somewhat greater than the side flanges l and 'l` Theside ange 'l is con- .tinued horizontally and then upwardly to form .atrough 9 having a bottom `lll and an'upstand- Ving side Wall Ilextendingfrom vthe uppermost water barrier 4 nearly to the flange 8 atthe bottom end of the tile. The trough 9 is of sufficient width anddepth to loosely receive the depending side ange 6 of a laterallyadjacent tile.

Each tile is provided with two countersunk holes I2 and I3 drilledthrough bosses I4 and I5. The boss I4 extends laterally from thevertical side wall I I of the trough 9 at a point spaced from the lowerflange 8 a distance slightly greater than the lap over the next lowercourse of tile. The boss I5 is located between the water barriers 3 and4 and slightly to the right of the longitudinal center line of the tileas seen in Figure I.

Each tile is secured to a substructure or frame I6 of the roof by twoscrews II, one passed through each of the holes I2 and I3.'

The improved tiles are laid on a roof substructure I6 in theconventional manner, the

lower course being put in place first and then successive higher coursesadded, each course overlapping the next lower course. The tile of eachcourse are interlocked with the depending flanges 6 fitted into thetroughs 9. The troughs 9 are of sufficiently greater width than thethickness of the flanges 6 so that the horizontal spacing of the tilesmay be adjusted and the use of fractional width tiles avoided. Tiles atthe end of each course such as a tile I8 terminating the lower course inFigure II have wide depending flanges I9 to overhang the end of the roofsubstructure I6 and provide a finished edge for the roof.

The depending flanges 8 of the bottom course of tile are spaced from theroof substructure by a blocking strip nailed to the roof frame orroofing boards I6 along the edge at the eaves. The blocking strip 20elevates the bottom end of the lowermost course of tile the same amountas remaining courses are elevated by lapping the next lower courses.

The flanges 6 and 'I are continued around the upper corners of each tileto provide spaced bearing surfaces so that the single screw I1 insertedthrough the hole I3 between the bearing Surfaces may hold the tilefirmly in place while the other screw inserted through the hole alongside the trough keeps the exposed end of the trough from lifting. Sincethe side flanges E and 'I continue only a short distance around theupper corners, a clear space is left between the upper edge of the tileand the roof boards to allow a free circulation of air. The interlockingcharacter of the tile is clearly shown in Figure V. It should be notedthat the interlocking joints between the tile of each course are locatedmidway between the joints of the next higher or lower course. Arrangedin this manner any water draining down through the trough 9 of onecourse of tile is `dischargedonto the central portion of the next lowertile and is thus returned to the outer surface of the roof without anypossibility of it finding its way onto the substructure or roof boardI6.

If desired, additional strength may be impar-ted to the tile byproviding longitudinal ribs 2| onits lower surface.

the tile.

The design of roofing tile shown in the drawings is particularlyeffective against wind-driven rain because lof the large amount of freeair space provided between the lapped portions of successive courses oftile. This air space is very large in comparison with the openingsthrough which wind or rain may be driven. The lower edge of the ange 8at the bottom of each tile fits snugly against the upper surface of thenext lower course of tile so that only a thin crack is left. The trough9 at the joint between two tiles is, of course, open to the effect ofthe wind. However, the depth of the trough is great enough so that airmay enter the upper portion of the opening while water flows out throughthe lower portion. If the trough were made too small the surface tensionof the water causes the water to completely block the opening andprevent free drainage. This latter phenomenon, that which occurs withthe small trough, is the cause of the leakage through an ordinary tileroof which accompanies a beating rain. The air pressure against the roofcauses air to flow in through the space between the tiles and thesespaces being small in cross-sectional area are bridged with water dropswhich are carried along by the air and left on the substructure of theroof. In a roof covered with the improved tile, water may be driven upunder the'flange 8 along the bottom of the tile but the sudden increasein air space immediately behind the flange B and below the surface Iallows the air and water to separate and the air to continue upwardlyabove the roof boards while the water remains on the surface 2 fromwhich it drains'into the trough 9 and back onto the roof.

The improved tile, by providing adequate ventilation of the spacebeneath the tile with air 'drawnfrom the outside atmosphere, maintains auniform temperature over the entire roof surface so that ice and snowwill not collect over the eavesy to cause puddles and consequent leakageof water.

While the improved tile is preferably cast of aluminum, itmay also bemolded from ceramic materials or cast from other metals. If aluminum orother light reflective material is used the external surface of the tileserves as a heat reflector so that the absorption of solar heat by rtheroof is materially reduced and as a result the inside temperaturebeneath the roof is also reduced. y j

The embodiment of the-invention described "illustrates the preferredvdesign of the improved roofing tile. `Various features of the designmay be omitted or modified without losingV all of the advantages aordedby the invention. The specific embodiment should,1therefore, beconsidered as merely illustrating the invention and not as defining itsscope.'

Having described my invention, I claim:

. 1. A tile for use as a roong material, the tile having a generallyflat upper surface, a depending uninterrupted lip extending around threesides of the flat surface, the lip along one side being extendedhorizontally and then vertically to form a trough along the side, saidtrough serving to receive the depending lip of a laterally adjacenttile, a narrow water barrier extending across the upper surface of thetile in the region that is lapped by a next higher course of tile, saidwater barrier extending toward but failing to reach any portion of asuperjacent tile, and a raised lip starting at the end of the trough andextending along the lapped end of the tile and along the opposite end ofthe area between the water barrier and the end of thetile to partiallybound anv area between the, raised lipand the that is adapted to rest onthe second area of a 10 next lower tile with the rst area and Waterbarrier of the lower tile lapped by the higher tile, a trough along aside of the tile, a depending lip extending along the other side of thetile, and adapted to be received in the trough of a laterally adjacenttile, said trough extending along one side of the rst area, and a raisedlip extending entirely along the upper edge of the tile sub- 6stantially parallel to the water barrier and cooperating With the waterbarrier to form the rst area into a pocket for receiving wind drivenWater and draining it into the trough.

WILLIAM S. BREMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,226,888 Hughes May 22, 19171,434,166 Thompson Oct. 31, 1922 1,861,998 Bennett June 7, 19321,999,244 Ludowici Apr. 30, 1935 2,004,198 Fall June 11, 1935 2,205,080Brown June 18, 1940

